The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-01-08
THE cHAUTAUoUANs.
What They are Doing In the state OF
Maine.
History OF Or. vIncent's Effort for
Broader Culture.
The Books that are to be Read this
Year In the Country.

/
The Books that are to be Read this
Year In the Country.
These cabalistIc words. c. l.. S. c., stand
for the Chautauqua Scientific and Literary
Circle. Its founders are Rev. DIR. John II.
Vincent and Lewis Miller, Esq. The friends
OF the movement will be interested In per-
sonal reference to these men.
DIR. VINCENT
was born in Alabama in 1882 Perhaps his
intense longing TO give up the treasures of
the modern college TO others arises from the
fact that he was denied the privileges of a
college training himself. He has become, how
ever, by, years of careful training one Of the
most cultivated men Of the country, and will
rank as one OF the great educators OF our time
At twenty-oDe he was admitted TO the minis
try OF the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
was at the outbreak OF the War pastor
OF the Methodist church at Galena, ILL., and
had Y. ). Grant as a regular and apprecia-
tive listener. 1t is needless to add that the
friendship there begun continued through
out General Grants life and that DR.. Vim
cent had the counsel and approval Of the
great soldier-statesman in his later educa-
| tl0n6l enterprises. Dr. Vincent early be-
came interested In the literature and work of
the Sunday School, and about 1864 visited
Europe and Palestine to better prepare him
self for this great department of Christian
service. In 1865 he was placed at the head
| of the Sunday school work of the Methodist
| Episcopal ehurch-a position which he has
retained down TO the present time. The Sun
day School Journal, Advocate, Lesson
Leaves, Our Youth, &C., now edited by him,
have an aggregate weekly circulation Of over
| 1,375,0O0 copies.
LEWIS MILLER,
like DR.. Vincent. failed to secure a college
education. Early influences turned his plans
from literary to a mechanical career. But
he has never lost his interest in education or
| in the church and the Sunday school. with
both Of which he became early identified
The Sunday school at Akron, Ohio, of which
ne IS superintendent has perhaps the finest
rooms and appliances for Sunday school in
| struction of any school in the United States
| Mr.. Miller early became a successful inven-
| tor and manufacturer, and has made for
| tune through the famous Buckeye Mower"
| He has Deen prominent in educational enter
| prlses in Ohio for years. To Mr.. Millers
| interest in the Sunday school, to his breadth
| OF view, inventiveness, administrative abili-
| ty, and to his unbounded generosity the
! Chautauqua movement is indebted quite as
| much as to DIR. Vineents genius for leader
| ship. Mr.. Miller and DIR. Vincent met in
| 1873 and devised the modern.
SUNDAY SCHOOL ASSEMBLY,
the first one of which upon a larger scale
was carried out at Chautauqua in 1874 The
object of the Assembly was to train teachers
for Sunday school work, as far as possible
after the model which Normal schools pursue
| in training teachers for day school work
| Dr. Vincent called wide attention to the
| first Chautauqua Sunday School Assembly
| through the immense Sunday school publica-
| tlons Of whi' h he was editor, and the FIRST
| Assembly was great success. Other Sun
| cay school Assemblies have been held be-
| fore, but Dr. Vincen's success, like that Of
Robert Ralkes, was due in part to the fact
/ that he was an editor and that he reached
| an immense constituency and awakened
| national interest in the better training of
| Sunday school teachers. A strong demand
soon arose for lengthening the Assembly at
| Chautauqua and for Assemblies in other parts
| Of the land. DR.. Vincent soon saw that ii
| was impossible to give all the instruction
necessary in the few days or weeks which
could be spent at Summer Assembly. Here
/ again his experience as an editor proved in
| valuable. He planned to put large part of
/ his instructions into print and to continue IL
throughout the year. This led to the idea Of
cHAUTAUoUA CIRCLES
| for reading in homes and neighborhoods. 1t
was never deemed essential that a reader
should belong to local circle. Persons In
every State and in almost every country are
now reading the Chautauqua course without
| any connection with local circle. 1t Is safe
however, to say that the meetings Of the
| Chautauquans for mutual help are so pOpu-
/ lar that ninety per cent. OF all graduates have
| been connected with local circles. But with
one or more years before each student for
| reading DIR. Vincent at once saw that he
| could give his teachers far broader train
1 ing than was possible at an assembly. He
carefully studied ali the reading courses de-
| vised and passed them by as defective. At
| last the thought came to him like an insplra-
| tion: Why not give my Sunday teachers that
| body of information which the wisest educa-
tors have agreed upon after generations Of
| experience? 1t would be impossible to give
| in a few minutes daily reading the discipline
| OF a four years college course. He could not
/ hope that his readers would learn at their
| homes to translate the dead languages with
| ease or TO acquire the discipline of the high
| er mathematics. But with their maturer
minds and with the cooperation of college
men he could give his readers all the infor-
nation or knowledge which any student ac
quires at college. He consulted such men as
| William Cullen Bryant, President w. L.
| Warren Of Boston University, A. A. Hodge
| of Princeton, DIR. Lyman Abbott, Arthur
| Gilman of Cambridge, Edward Everett Hale.
| Professor Townsend, Wilkinson of the
| Rochester Theological Seminary, Winehell,
| &c. The idea was regarded as brilliant
one if he could only get people TO- read the
/ course. SO he at once named his course a
scientific and literary course. He planned
| to embrace in tail the Greek, Latin, Ger
| man and French Of the college course put in
| to plain English, with all the knowledge of
| science, history, literature and art put into
| the same form. In word the Q. l.. 5. G.. is
| the
| INFORMATION OF A COLLEGE COURSE
TURNED INTO THE BEST ENGLISH.
This immense broadening of the course of
reading was expected to bring with it cor
responding revolution among the readers of
| the course 1t was feared that many Sunday
| school teachers who had attended the Chau-
| tauQua assembly would not take q course Of
| reading which would require nearly an hour
| day for four years. This fear was most
| happily dissipated by experience. Upon the
| other hand IL was hoped that scores upon
scores of persons hungering for knowledge
and deprived Of the privileges OF the college
| would be attracted to this reading course,
| which was thrown open TO every one. This
hope was most abundantly realized. To dis
| pei the dread Of those who realize their lack
| OF early training and stand in great awe Of
| the college let us glance at the course of
| reading for the present year. IL opens with
WALKS AND TALKS IN THE GEOLOGICAL
| FIELD.
by Alexander Winchell, LII ID. DIR. VIM
chells scholarship is vouched for by his nu-
merous scientific works and his professor
| ship in one Of the best American universi-
ties, while he Is so clear and bright, and
| withal so entertaining that the peO-
| pie are reading his book with delight. GeOl-
ogy Is followed by the admirable outline
sketch Of English literature by Professor
Beers of Yale, and this by short volume on
The Christian Religion by Professor Fisher
of Yale. RecreatiOns in Astronomy by Bish-
| Op III. w. Warren, is a fascinating volume.
Bishop Hurst gives A Short History Of the
| Early Church, Professor Wilkinson In his
classic French course in English gives clear
and entertaining narrative of the master
workmen and the masterpieces Of French
literature. Brief Sketches from English
History by Professor Wheeler, and Macau-
lays brilliant essay on Warren Hastings
complete the book. These eight volumes,
not much larger than the average Sunday
school volume, with the Chautauquan, EN-
brace all the reading of the year. The Chau-
tauquan is monthly magazine, containing
in each number about twelve pages Of re-
quired reading. The TOPICS are treated in
the Chautauquan briefly, but by the ablest
writer's. The following are the topics OF the
required study for the present year: Studies
in the Mounfains Rocks for Homes The